RASP Synonyms: 168 Similar and Opposite Words

rasp 1 of 2

noun

Definition of rasp

as in scratch

a harsh grating sound the rusted lock opened with a rasp

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rasp

2 of 2

verb

ˈrasp

as in to rub

to make smooth by friction after sawing the board in half, rasp the ends to remove any splinters

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to scratch

to pass roughly and noisily over or against a surface the sound of fingernails rasping on the blackboard makes me cringe

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to annoy

to disturb the peace of mind of (someone) especially by repeated disagreeable acts the two siblings seemed intent on rasping each other for the entire car trip

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to wear

to damage or diminish by continued friction during the last ice age, glaciers rasped the surface, leaving the deeply scarred rock

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of rasp

Noun

Like Dijon, svn4vr uses a dexterous, soulful rasp to fight for emotional truth from within songs that occupy shifting senses of space and bear the seams of digital assembly. — H.d. Angel, Pitchfork, 9 Apr. 2026 Deep and smoky with impressive control and just a touch of Etta James rasp, Spiro’s is a voice not so much influenced by jazz legends like Winehouse or Nina Simone but rather a direct descendant. — Ethan Millman, HollywoodReporter, 11 Mar. 2026

Verb

When the beetle takes flight, the woman, who is busy unpacking, doesn’t realize for a moment that there’s something out of place about that rasping ruckus, that foreign hum. — María Ospina, The Dial, 31 Mar. 2026 Thrips have rasping, sucking mouthparts. — Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 3 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for rasp

Recent Examples of Synonyms for rasp

Noun

Not only was there the initial flare-up, but now there were huge red scratches and hives.

— Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 2026
Check the listed starting pitchers first; a late scratch can void or reprice some bets.

— OutKick, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of scratch

Verb

Separating small equipment, personal accessories, and emergency supplies can also help reduce clutter and prevent belongings from rubbing against one another.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 16 Oct. 2026
Just before dusk, four or five does walked under the tree, and then a four-point buck followed, stopping beneath me to rub his antlers on a bush.

— Al Dawson, Outdoor Life, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of rub

Verb

Here’s a guy who scraped his dollars together, came to the club, and out of all the people there, he gets pulled on stage by Ol’ Dirty Bastard.

— Christine Imarenezor, VIBE.com, 13 Oct. 2026
Personal information gets exposed through breaches, scraped from public sources and traded in criminal marketplaces.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of scrape

Verb

And now Snider found himself here, under a bright, blue sky, annoyed as a fireman examined the staples on the side of his head.

— Geoff Edgers, Washington Post, 11 Oct. 2026
What annoys me is that this whole thing is called Roaring 20th, so why was there not a flapper and Great Gatsby theme?

— Brian Moylan, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of annoy

Verb

A day after their merger collapsed, Albertsons filed a lawsuit against Kroger, seeking a $600 million termination fee as well as billions of dollars in legal fees and lost shareholder value.

— ABC News, ABC News, 13 Oct. 2026
Since February, the team has filed more than 40 open records requests with state regulators at the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning.

— Justin Price, AJC.com, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of file

Verb

And as the team moved into the couple’s guest house on their San Diego rental property, the filmmakers feared that the home was bugged and ordered a device to try to de-bug it, without success.

— Kirsten Chuba, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2026
He’s bugged Jay — the two met online and married two years ago before opening their first restaurant last year — to make sure that includes his crispy duck panang curry.

— Miguel Otárola, Denver Post, 22 Sep. 2026